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support him personally, in a charitable way but the money was not meant to finance the creation of an armed group or to NLF.

On the amount his wife sent to Callixte Nsabimana, he said it was also for ‘survival’ because his wife is known to Nsabimana, since her mother originated from the same place as his mother.

Rusesabagina said that when the film Hotel Rwanda came out, many Rwandan refugees looked at him as a millionaire and often reached out to him for financial Known members of groups behind crimes of terrorism in Rwanda, the MRCD-Ubumwe of Paul Rusesabagina, have fabricated propaganda accusing the Rwandan Government of “carrying terror activities to Canada.” They allege this is “happening” in the cities of Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Edmonton. Their move, however, is seen by many as a smokescreen to conceal MRCD’s own crimes of terrorism against Rwandans, “especially now that Rusesabagina is going to face the law,” observers point out. Speaking on the anti-Rwanda platform Radio-Ubumwe, hosted by a renowned Genocide denier Esperance Mukashema, MRCD Henchmen Francois Mutuyemungu, and “BEM” Emmanuel Habyarimana claimed that “the Rwandan government is establishing intelligence cells and deploying operatives to hunt down Rwandan refugees in Canada.” They single out Antoinette Umuraza with her husband whom they identify as Afande Kawunga, Marie Michelle Umuhoza and others. “These are the people that have been sent to disturb our peace,” claimed Mutuyemungu. These are the words of desperate people that will say anything now that their boss Rusesabagina is in lawful custody, a commentator remarked. “They will say anything, and smear anyone, support and for those he supported, he did so out of kindness, not because he was financing their armed activities.

Prosecutors however punched holes in his claims, pointing out that the chats and correspondences as well as pronouncements by Rusesabagina on media and other recordings say otherwise.

On the alleged money transfers, he said it is true money from his end was sent to some individuals under NLF or other groups but out of the many names he was shown, he only recognised 2 but they are the real criminals!” Mutuyemungu for instance is a member of terrorist Callixte Nsabimana’s armchair terror group Rwandese Revolution Movement (RRM). “These are international terrorists responsible for armed attacks on innocent civilians in Rwanda; they connived with their leader Rusesabagina who is awaiting prosecution. The arrest of the big fish in the anti-Rwanda terrorists’ camp is a thorn in the flesh for the hostile groups. They will concoct anything to taint the image of Rwanda on the global scene,” reacted a political observer on Twitter. According to sources, Umuraza, one of the people being smeared, is a retired police officer who relocated to Canada with her family. She’s living a private life, not involved in politics or any other matter related to public service. As for Umuhoza the former spokesperson of Rwanda Investigation Bureau, she is currently in Canada for medical reasons as indicated by her institution. Not long ago the same anti-Rwanda groups were falsely claimed she had “fled the country”. “These people are accomplices in Rusesabagina’s case; soon they will have their day in court. Rusesabagina committed crimes against Rwandans by founding and funding a terrorist militia group, FLN that killed innocent people, a one Munyemana Eric and Marie Claire Ingabire, who were known to him but he was not the one initiating these transfers.

He said that he does not recognise the documents in possession of the Prosecution. His lawyer David Rugaza said that the documents from Belgium and those obtained from his computer or phone are not strong evidence to incriminate their client.

After lengthy deliberations, Prosecutors said that Rusesabagina would be a flight risk if released on bail, given the nature of civilians, injured many, looted, and burnt their properties,” a Facebook user commented, reacting to the talk show. In the same talk show on “Radio-Ubumwe”, “BEM” Habyarimana, a self-exiled former defense minister claimed Rusesabagina “has equal rights to possess guns and ammunition just like the Rwandan government.” Habyarimana’s utterances were seen by many as fresh incitement to violence by Rusesabagina’s people. Relatedly, a fortnight ago Rusesabagina’s right-hand man Vincent Biruka who serves as Secretary-General of CNRD- called on Rwandans to revolt against their elected leadership. “There are running out of steam and the world is narrowing down on them. They have now resorted to incitements after failing on the so-called armed struggle to liberate Rwanda; their survival out there is short-lived.” a social media user reacted denouncing Biruka charges he faces and the fact that he had eluded justice for a long time. They said he would do so again given another chance.

Rusesabagina told the court that he is not in good health and that he has been to the hospital 3 times since he arrived in Rwanda, pleading to court to consider that and release him on bail. He emphasized that he is ready to continue with the legal process.

The hearing has been adjourned to Thursday, September 17, when the court will pronounce

itself on the matter. Rusesabagina, Nsabimana, BEM Habyarima, and Biruka have been perpetrating crimes targeting the Rwandan people. Through their terrorist militia, National Force of Liberation (FLN), they orchestrated armed attacks on the Rwandan soil. They include attacks of June, December 2018 in the Rwandan Southern and Western Province which claimed 6 innocent civilians and injured several others, setting ablaze commuter buses, looting citizens’ belongings and holding them hostage before the people were rescued by RDF troops.

Their former ally and FLN spokesperson Nsabimana spilled the beans on Rusesabagina and his MRCD-FLN allies’ role in destabilizing Rwanda and their plot to overthrow the government. Nsabimana pleaded guilty on 16 counts including terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery, arson, murder, Genocide denial, forgery and causing bodily harm among others.

There is a yawning chasm between the oft repeated assertions about Rwanda, and the country as it really is. Few events could have been better designed to expose this distance between perception and reality, than the arrest of Paul Rusesabagina, hailed as a hero by much of the world’s media, but well known by Rwandans themselves, to be something quite different.

We are yet to know the exact details of Rusesabagina’s arrest, other than that it surprised almost everyone, including the accused himself, and seems to have gone off like clockwork.

After understandably being caught somewhat on the hop, the tireless, organised, highly committed army of Rwanda’s detractors have been quick to regroup.

With a keen understanding of what plays well to Western ears, the media especially, they have lost little time in trotting out the tried and tested narratives against Rwanda.

“Paul Rusesabagina, kidnapped in Dubai and brought to Rwanda has been denied access to lawyer, consular visits…”

We are constantly reminded that Rusesabagina is a “Humanitarian” who allegedly saved exactly, 1,200 people at Hotel des Milles Collines. “Humanitarian” is now a title for Rusesabagina, which he has used to sign off letters written denouncing the Rwanda government, to among others, the Pentagon.

His “International Counsel” has written to the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.”

It is not clear if they are alleging that these cruel and inhuman acts are being meted out on Rusesabagina, but that does not seem to matter much. The point is to condemn and depict Rwanda, always referred to as Kagame, as being capable of such crimes. The truth of it, or otherwise, a mere detail.

Mr Rusesabagina, the appeal to the special rapporteur inform us, was “abducted, disappeared, and subjected to extraordinary rendition…”

Only a few days since his arrest, and we are already in the parallel world of what psychologists term “the illusion of truth” or more crudely, courtesy of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propagandist, “repeat a lie often enough, and it becomes the truth.”

There are some certainties in this evolving scenario. One is that like many before him, who have been extradited to Rwanda, Rusesabagina can be assured of all his legal rights, beginning with the right to choose his own counsel, and if he wishes, consular visits from the Belgian Embassy in Kigali.

Following the 1994 genocide against Tutsi, every institution had at best to be rebuilt, or established from scratch. Few sectors have had more time, energy and resources lavished on them, than the institution of justice.

Every necessary reform to bring it to international standards has

either been accomplished, or is being implemented. The transformation has been enough to instil confidence in Rwanda’s justice system, from every country in the world, including Scandinavian countries which most pride themselves on the most strict observance of human rights, that they can extradite suspects to the country. Hyperbolic claims of denial of access to lawyers, torture, and most sinister of all, “disappearances” will ring hollow to anyone who cares to properly scrutinise the system that is now entertaining Rusesabagina. And indications are that talk of abductions are also wide of the mark. When during a Rwanda Television interview, he was asked how Rusesabagina came to be arrested, President Kagame observed wryly, that when the story is eventually fully aired, it will become clear that Rusesabagina travelled to Rwanda of his own accord. Hinting at some subterfuge, he said Rusesabagina came voluntarily, willingly, although he may have been under the impression, he was heading to a destination other than his native land. “There was no wrong doing involved, he came of his own volition…except perhaps telling a fib, that might be the only wrong doing…” Far from being abducted or rendered, by all accounts, Rusesabagina had a particularly pleasant trip. He enjoyed the kind of inflight service most of us who travel economy class, only ever imagine. What intrigues, is where in Africa he believed he was going, and why? Either way, he disembarked refreshed, and no doubt expecting a VIP reception. It is not too fanciful to imagine that at first, he may have thought the police waiting on the tarmac part of his escort, to yet another luxury hotel. They were there to accompany him of course, but not as he had anticipated. cuffs. Not all that begins well,

ends as it began. The gratuitously, ostentatious chorus of Rusesabagina as a Humanitarian is also likely to quickly wither under the first light shone on it. How he became celebrated as a humanitarian hero, may be a story more worthy of Hollywood than the one that brought him fame, and no little fortune.

It is above all as egregious an example as any, of the scorn in which Africa, in general, and in this case, Rwanda in particular, is held in the West.

The most cursory of research would have rang alarm bells, before a Hollywood director ever called, camera, action. But Rwandans it seemed did not matter enough to be consulted in anyway other than as nodding heads to what had already been decided.

Yolande Mukagasana was one of the survivors who was sheltered at the hotel, before being transferred to the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) controlled zone. She had known Rusesabagina well enough to be present when he went to ask for his wife’s hand in

marriage. After the marriage, she and Rusesabagina’s wife would develop a close friendship. Both nurses, they also worked together, and it was Mukagasana who comforted her friend through a miscarriage.

She remembers a man who was deeply involved in the politics of the time. The friendship would come under some strain in 1993, when Mukagasana’s husband, Joseph Murekezi, asked his wife to exclude him from visits to the Rusesabagina home, because of the latter’s increasingly strident extremism.

The two women continued to be close, however, and it was Rusesabagina’s wife, who arranged for Mukagasana who was being hunted, to be allowed to take refuge at the Mille Collines hotel.

book, Not My Time To Die, she was all that was left of her family. Her husband, Murekezi had been murdered before her eyes, and she would later learn that so too had been her children.

Hotel de Mille Collines had become a world in of itself. It was the base from where the UNAMIR (UN Mission in Rwanda) force commander, lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire, tried to do what he could to fulfil what was left of his mission, after he had been effectively abandoned by his superiors in the Security Council.

It was where any Western foreigner who had not been evacuated from Rwanda could be found, where Captain Diagne Mbaye of the UN Senegalise contingent, under Romeo Dallaire, was quietly, without fuss or fanfare, going about his heroics, saving as many people as he could. Captain Mbaye would sadly be targeted by the Rwandan army, and killed.

It was the place where many desperate people, Yolande Mukagasana among them, took refuge. Dallaire had begun to negotiate safe passage for refugees to go into the RPF controlled zone, and to safety.

Inevitably, it became a place of great interest to what there was of international media. So much so that Jean Kambanda, the Prime minister, would complain fretfully, that the hotel was too exposed to international gaze.

The genocidal establishment still believed it could conceal the crime from the world’s eyes. It is because of this, as much as anything else, that the order was given for no murders to be committed at the hotel, for the time being.

In the meantime, however, something had to be done, to bring more under government control. The Belgian management had left Rwanda, leaving the way clear for the genocidal government to install their own man.

Rusesabagina was sent from the Hotel Diplomate which he managed, and which had become the headquarters for the genocidal government, to go and keep an eye on things at the Mille Collines. fame, or infamy, depending on The new man quickly established at the top of the hotel, in what other survivors, he also set about now lives in Belgium, and has nated water, from the hotel swimabagina as “Africa’s Schindler.” but the symmetry too was uncanfilm gods must have been smilthe war effort, and ended up managed to maintain the fiction, a point of comparison. Just as for Development and Democracy (MRND), but there, dear film

It is barely a five minute drive and even the UN peacekeepers from what was Hotel Diplomate to would have informed any Mille Collines, five minutes during researcher, had they asked, there which Rusesabagina would go were no such negotiations, from just another cog in the except perhaps, about how to genocidal machine, to world share the loot. whether you view him from HollyPerhaps the most grotesque wood, or Rwanda. claim of all, was depicting Ruseshis own fiefdom at the four star It is easy to see why Hollywood hotel. First order of business was latched on to this. The accepted to disconnect all the telephones, norm is that no African story is which had been a link to the viable, unless it has a Western outside world, for the refugees perspective. Here was a story especially. with not only such a perspective, Now the only telephone left was ny. became a communications Oscar Schindler is said to have centre, accessible only to the saved 1,200 Jews from the authorities, including the leaderNazis, and lo and behold, Rusesship of the Interahamwe, and abagina manages to save 1,200 anyone else Rusesabagina chose Tutsi from the Interahamwe. to grant permission. What fortuitous coincidence, the According to Mukagasana, and ing. enriching himself. Sabena, the The truth, however, was grimacBelgian management company, ing. Oscar Schindler was a comhad left instructions that no one plex, extraordinary man. A was to be charged to stay at the German industrialist in Nazi hotel, but it was now under new occupied Poland, he begun by management. Everything, from insisting to the Nazis that his shelter, water and food was to be Jewish workers must be spared, at a cost. because they were essential to If you ran out of cash as many recruiting more Jewish people, did, you wrote cheques, Tacian not because he needed them, but Ndorimana, signed several. He because they needed him. watched, aghast, as the man who Although a member of the Nazi extorted every last cent he had, party, it was nevertheless a was hailed a humanitarian hero. dangerous game to play. He If you had no cash, and had fled by a combination of charm, guile to the hotel without stopping to and a lot of bribery. His story, grab your chequebook, as many Schindler’s list, was told in a film did, you ended up drinking chloriby Stephen Spielberg. ming pool, as many did. In fairness to Hollywood, there is buffs, ends the similarities.

In the film, Hotel Rwanda, much Schindler was a member of the is made of supposed negotiations Nazi party, Rusesabagina was between Rusesabagina and the also member of the extremist Interahamwe. As every survivor, National Republican Movement

Oscar Schindler risked his life and fortune to save the lives he did, and was a poorer man by the time the Nazis were defeated. Rusesabagina more than vindicated the trust put in him by the genocidal government, and was an infinitely richer man, by the time the genocidal forces were defeated. So much richer in fact, that he would be able to purchase at least two properties in Brussels, almost immediately after leaving Rwanda.

One used his fortune to buy time for desperate people facing a genocide, the other extorted money from the victims, and would not even offer them water, unless he was paid.

“The Rwandan government accuses Rusesabagina of falsely claiming to have saved people…” is a line repeated in almost every Western newspaper that has published a story on the subject.

In fact, the Rwanda government has said precious little on the subject. It is the survivors of the genocide, like Mukagasana, Ndorimana, and others, who have consistently voiced their shock, and some distress at what they see as perverting the truth.

And yet, none of this, is what would land Rusesabagina in the dock. He is primarily a victim of his own hubris.

An image of him had been constructed, and he could not resist the temptation to inhabit it.

Looked up to by the anti Rwanda forces because of his fame, he seems to have come to believe that he must be the man destined to lead them.

The moment the armed groups he is accused of financing, and which he himself has admitted to head, crossed over into Rwanda, to murder unarmed civilians, was the moment he invited Rwanda’s security services to take a close interest in him.

That interest has now led to a home coming he had neither wanted nor anticipated.

By The New Times

This oft-quoted statement by Toni Morrison, the American Nobel Laureate for Literature, is essential for anyone interested in understanding what’s going on with the media coverage of Paul Rusesabagina’s arrest: “The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of this is necessary. There will always be one more thing.”

Major international media houses—the likes of CNN, BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Reuters and others—are distracting the public from the substance of the crimes that Paul Rusesabagina is accused of and diverting people’s attention to the procedure of his arrest. The distractions are so glaring that the uninformed or misinformed reader, the real target of the misleading reporting, would be forgiven for thinking that Rusesabagina was arrested for designating himself as a “hero” or for being a “critic.”

The first distraction was the story of “kidnap”, which has now been upgraded to “rendition.” What makes this a distraction is that no country has complained that its territorial integrity was violated by the “rendition” or “kidnap” of Rusesabagina. Even when it is clear that Rusesabagina came to Rwanda on his own volition, the media insists on the kidnap and rendition narrative. When they don’t do that, they raise alarm denouncing the possibility that Rusesabagina was “tricked” or lured into turning himself in.

“Suspects on the run don’t have to consent to their arrest,” a veteran Kigali lawyer told me as I was researching for this article.

“They, in fact, get arrested because they didn’t know they would be arrested. Being lured into a trap is not a unique circumstance for arresting a suspect, especially those on the run like Rusesabagina. Rendition and kidnapping have meanings and what happened to him isn’t one of them,” he said, before adding, “if there are procedural issues that need to be challenged, that’s fine. There are provisions for challenging that under Rwanda’s laws. However, the most important part is that Rusesabagina was needed in Rwanda and he is here.” In other words, the rest is a distraction.

The second distraction was media coverage’s suggestion that it was somewhat improper for someone of Rusesabagina’s celebrity to get “paraded in handcuffs.” Surely, celebrities don’t come any bigger than Bill Cosby, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. His parading in handcuffs does not need reminding, and the internet is awash with pictures captured by the same media houses that have suddenly found it improper to parade and handcuff celebrities.

In fact, a number of celebrities who have been arrested on much lesser crimes than terrorism and rape have been paraded in handcuffs. lawyers have been denied access to him and that he faces the risk of torture. However, the family and lawyers concede to the fact that they are not physically present in Rwanda. Unless the allegation is intended to act as a distraction, what kind of access do they expect if they are not physically present in Rwanda where their family member and client is?

Similarly, how do they know that Rusesabagina is undergoing torture when they don’t have access to him? On the contrary, I have it on good authority that Rusesabagina has been talking to his family on the phone. Rusesabagina has also stated that he has been “treated with kindness” and was given the right to choose his legal defence: “I have been offered an option to choose my defense team. Investigations are still ongoing, I do not want to discuss details of a matter before the court. I do not want to discuss my charges because this is an issue that is before court and investigations,” he said in the interview.

A source also intimated to me that a representative of the Belgian embassy visited Rusesabagina at his jail cell at Remera Police Station. So, what’s the media distraction all about? someone who handled cases that involved similar international media coverage, what he thinks about the international media’s failure or refusal to discuss the substance of Rusesabagina’s arrest, including terrorism crimes (particularly the concern for the victims of the attacks by FLN –Force for National Liberation -- the armed wing of Rusesabagina’s political party MRCD (Movement for Change and Democracy in Rwanda) and his own recordings announcing the launch of the armed struggle in the lead-up to the attacks.

“It is not the first time they are doing this [distraction],” the prosecutor said. “In 2010, a foreigner who had been engaging in genocide denial was arrested and charged under Rwandan law. Even before his charges were read out, there was a petition that was making rounds across his home country calling for his release. I happened to visit that country. I met some of those petitioners in a public forum. I asked them whether they knew what the charges were. They didn’t because their petition was before the prosecution had initiated charges. So, I asked them ‘what are you petitioning against?’ None of them could reasonably answer my question.”

onslaught on the procedure of Rusesabagina's arrest, was a distraction. It is a contemptuous reaction to Rwanda’s institutions. As noted above, the media is awash with a multitude of allegations against the government, ranging from procedural to substantive breaches of rights (torture, denial of access, etc) from a team of lawyers (and spokesperson) that has not bothered to meet Rusesabagina for client-to-lawyer interactions.

This contempt also explains the coverage by The Washington Among the things that have not changed since the last genocide of the 20th century claimed more than 1 million Tutsi lives is the way in which bystanders and accomplices to the crime have attempted, time and again, to not only rewrite history but also to impose the contours of acceptable speech in Rwandan society and, subsequently, the terms of reconciliation. Activists and organizations operating from countries that first denied the occurrence of genocide in order to evade their responsibility to protect are today at the forefront in the fight to overthrow the RPF-led government. The RPF is a prime target for being the only military force that opposed the extermination project. Logically, accomplices have vested interests in rewriting history. In this endeavor, they have found willing partners in those whose direct involvement in the mass murder or sectarian political interests require this rewriting. Consequently, Rwanda and the survivors of the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi have had to deal with genocide denial, revisionism, and minimization. Genocide denial and revisionism often go hand in hand. The denial of facts legally-established beyond a reasonable doubt necessarily leads to a revision of Post that Rusesabagina had been detained by the “state-run Rwanda Investigation Bureau” as if to suggest that he is being held captive by a rogue entity that is about to pass him over to a “native court” for trial.

At the centre of the wilful manipulation of the media is Ms. Kitty Kurth, the Spokesperson of the Rusesabagina Foundation, the orchestrator of the grand distraction. One would be tempted to think that this is a briefcase foundation. For one thing, the Foundation acts as if it has an open-ended mandate in taking up history. As such, it is no longer surprising to learn about the publication of books such as In Praise of Blood’. - only two decades after the genocide. In this book, Judi Rever advances a theory of double genocide that is entirely discredited and is strongly rejected by serious researchers. Equally unsurprising, although he is not a mere bystander, but an active participant in the intellectual wing of the genocidaires in his capacity as the chairperson of the genocidal constitution in 1978, is Filip Reytiens’ use of anonymous sources, genocide suspects and genocide convicts, to build cases from scratch against the RPF. In the same vein, Jean Kambanda, the former prime minister of the genocidal government who pleaded guilty to crimes of genocide and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the ICTR, recently published, from his jail cell, a book entitled "Les Interathe criminal responsibilities of its founder, Rusesabagina, without owning up to prior knowledge of his criminal activities, including the recorded statements and actions advancing armed groups.

Otherwise, the Foundation can’t have its cake and eat it, too. Indeed, if the officials of the Foundation are acting on their own or in their new capacities vis-à-vis the circumstances that their founder finds himself in, then they also need to disclose their new status in order for them to be taken seriously by Rwanda's Justice system and other hamwe du FPR- RPF Killers ". Judi Rever, Filip Reytiens, Jean Kambanda, and other “critics” of the Rwandan government, in reality critics of the genocide against the Tutsi, such as Paul Rusesabagina or Ingabire Victoire have a thing in common: They shamelessly shift from denial to revisionism or use a combination of the two in this agenda. Where they do not simply deny the reality of the genocide against the Tutsi, they attribute the responsibility to the RPF or quite simply promote the double genocide theory. The political utility of these attempts, as has been argued before, is to level the field between genocidaires and those who defeated them or to reverse responsibilities. In his recent interview with the Rwandan Broadcasting Agency on September 6th, 2020, while referring to Jean Kambanda’s international entities they are engaging. If the foundation is a vehicle for criminal behaviour, as Ms Kurth’s role seems to suggest, then this is of interest to Rwandans in their quest to bring Rusesabagina to justice.

Ms. Kurth can play these double roles only because the media, as a functional tool in this distraction, allows her to get away with it. Indeed, as Morrison would put it, it is racism that informs the contemptuous view of Rwanda’s

institutions. book, President Kagame mentioned the disturbing aspect of the publication. “Seeing someone who was convicted and imprisoned, given a platform to write a book denying the history that led to his imprisonment is a problem,” the President said.

Indeed, it is a shame to see unscrupulous publishing houses, activists, and organizations operating from countries whose inaction or direct support for genocidal forces facilitated mass crimes, continue to lend a hand to the denial and revisionist propaganda under the guise of freedom of expression. In their understanding of what freedom of expression should be, individuals and western NGOs that masquerade as "defenders of human rights and democracy" have not found other more credible figures to promote their agenda.

Yet, it should have been a warning sign for genuine defenders of human rights and democracy that the attempts of their chosen human rights activists to discredit the RPF-led government have genocide denial and revisionism as a foundation. If such attempts to discredit the Rwandan government must involve the rewriting of history and constant attacks on the memory of victims of the genocide, then obviously the criticisms they put forward as far as the present is concerned are either too dubious or illegitimate

grounds to mobilize the Rwandan people against the current dispensation.

However, far from doing a work of introspection on the responsibility of their countries of origin in the tragedy of 1994 and taking their own responsibility in the criminality, they have turned to uninhibited genocide denial and revisionism; consequently, those activists and western NGOs continue to interfere undermine the process of nation-state building undertaken by the RPF.

Unable to recognize the extraordinary progress in Rwanda and the improvement in the living conditions of Rwandans, they continue, from the height of their insufferable arrogant ignorance, to blame the Rwandan leadership for all sorts of evils while remaining loudly silent on the unwillingness of their home countries to shoulder their responsibilities: the minimum would be to arrest and prosecute those responsible for the genocide.

Ironically, they portray their own tolerance of crime and the sheltering of criminals as "modera

By The New Times

There's a popular saying among smart lawyers that "if the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts, if the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell". This is precisely what members of Rusesabagina's terrorist organization National Liberation Front (NLF) and similar allied groups, as well as his foreign supporters, are doing in the aftermath of his arrest on terrorism charges. The most ridiculous and arrogant argument Rusesabagina's foreign handlers and surrogates have come up with is the Presidential Medal of Honor he received in 2005, insisting that somehow the medal bestows tion,” respect for human rights, and free speech. Emboldened by this support, genocidaires like Jean Kambanda or genocide deniers like Paul Rusesabagina, have felt themselves growing wings to the point of publishing books that deny the very crime they were convicted for or calling for war against the Rwandan government.

Similarly, a person like Paul Rusesabagina openly refers to the government as “the enemy of the Rwandan people since 1990”. The promoters of revisionism that is camouflaged in “moderation” his promoters fail to ask the obvious question: “Which Rwandan people was Rusesabagina referring to?”

In the video where Rusesabagina calls for war against the “Kagame army”, he accuses the RPF of enacting policies that impoverish the “natives”. In the context of the Great Lakes Region, “natives” is a loaded word. It refers to colonial theories on the origins of Tutsi which are described as invaders akin to settler colonialists who imposed themselves on the indigenous populations –the natives. Such terminology was used to deny Tutsi citizenship rights; similar terminology was immunity on the recipient and he doesn't have to account for the crimes he committed against the Rwandan people. Never mind the fact that he was awarded the medal on the basis of a false narrative portrayed by Hollywood, that foreigners are even suggesting that the award puts him above the law, is a demonstration of how contemptuous they are for the Rwandan people. Indeed, Rusesabagina isn't the first Presidential Medal of Honor recipient to be arrested, tried, and convicted of crimes. Iconic African American comedian and philanthropist, Bill Cosby was awarded the same Medal of Honor in 2002. The 81-year-old used to fuel hatred that led to genocidal massacres targeting Tutsi since 1959, culminating in the 1994 genocide.

At the time, in the late 50s and early 60s, the masterminds of the genocide encouraged the “natives” to throw Tutsi “invaders” in Nyabarongo river so that they return to their place of origin – Ethiopia. In other words, the “Hotel Rwanda Hero” misleads no one in Rwanda as far as his intent and his perceived “moderation” are concerned. His coded language is understood by all; it is the rallying call of genocidaires.

Beyond Rusesabagina, however, the failure of introspection on the part of the bystanders during the genocide informs their definition of “moderation” in which those who stopped the genocide and are committed to preventing its recurrence are labeled “intolerant.” For the NGOs, introspection would have them reflect on the reasons their own governments looked the other way while a million people were being massacred; they would reflect on why their countries have not brought to book the killers who fled to their home countries; they would reflect on the reasons why their home countries were chosen as a sanctuary for the genocidal killers; they would reflect on the reasons a man they call a hero declared a war on his home country and subsequently took responsibility for attacks that took the lives of innocent people; they would reflect on why they consider these people moderates.

If bystanders were genuine advocates of human rights and democracy, they would not have been bystanders in the first place. Moreover, if they had any regret for the indifference then, they would center the perspective of victims rather than those of the perpetrators of crime now; moreover, they would give sanctuary to the former rather than the latter. They would allow the victims to define the terms of reconciliation rather than impose upon them what “moderation” is. If moderation is defined as accommodating an ideology that informed the slaughter of more than a million Rwandans, then radicalness against the ideology is the only antidote against the recurrence of genocide. Bystanders to genocide, unrepentant and indifferent, remain

on the wrong side of history.

was, in 2018, convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting women and handed up to ten years in prison and ordered to pay large sums of money.

Given his advanced age, Cosby may easily spend the rest of his life behind bars. By a strange coincidence, the two men received the medals at different times from the same president: George W Bush.

When Bill Cosby was arrested and convicted, America applauded, and a powerful lobby is now actively pushing for his Presidential Medal of Honor to be revoked.

Now foreigners including Rusesabagina's American handlers are demanding his "immediate release" because as a recipient of the same medal he is untouchable.

The line here is clear: While Bill Cosby's victims were largely white middle-class women, including Andrea Constand on whose case he was convicted, the victims of Rusesabagina's terrorist forces are Rwandans and that's what racism is all about.

It's true that Paul Rusesagina perpetrated the most unprecedented fraud on the international community, way before he embarked on his terrorism mission, but the foreigners now screaming can't feign ignorance.

He has, on multiple occasions, bragged to foreign audiences about the violence he was unleashing against the Rwandan people and it never occurred to them that they needed to call him out. Indeed, many of them continued to organize speaking engagements for him, with the sole purpose of smearing the government of Rwanda, as he raised money for his war.

In a careful and calculated scheme, Rusesabagina was able to pull off a remarkably successful scam, presenting himself to the Western world as a hero who saved more than one thousand lives during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

It wasn't long before Hollywood, which lives and breathes fiction, released Hotel Rwanda and soon Rusesabagina was launched on the international scene as the "hero". And he wasn't about to put to waste his new profile, as he went on to milk it for all its worth.

Contrary to the character created by Hollywood, the true persona of Rusesabagina is captured in the testimonies of the people who sought refuge at the Hotel des Mille Collines.

Far from being the humanitarian, he has claimed to be, Rusesabagina, during the genocide, was hand- in- glove with the perpetrators, including Interahamwe militia leaders and military commanders, often pointing out Tutsi targets to the killers.

He forced the people who were under siege at the hotel to pay for the rooms and services against instructions from the Belgian proprietors of the facility, who had insisted that he doesn't demand payment from those who were fleeing the killers.

Instead, Rusesabagina threw out anyone who couldn't afford to pay.

He went on to disconnect the

phone lines in the rooms to ensure the outside world didn't get to know what the people at the hotel and the country at large were going through.

As he basked in his counterfeit Hollywood glory, Rusesabagina set out to accomplish what was all along close to his heart. He raised vast amounts of money, through a crafty and cynical scheme, using a Foundation named after him, purportedly to help genocide orphans in Rwanda.

He wasn't about to help anybody, but was, instead, plotting to create more orphans in Rwanda.

Rusesabagina formed an armed terrorist militia that soon launched violent attacks on Rwanda, in which a number of innocent people lost their lives, and more were left with serious injuries and permanent disabilities.

As he travelled the world mobilizing and recruiting fighters for his terrorist project, Rusesabagina made no secret of his intentions to perpetrate violence against the Rwandan people.

His recruitment drive and efforts to destabilize Rwanda are well documented.

Towards the end of 2018, Rusesabagina gave a detailed presentation to an audience of his foreign supporters, bragging about what he was projecting as progress made by his (NLF) terrorist militia.

He declared that "since the beginning of July 2018 the NLF launched a military struggle to liberate Rwanda." He went on to assure them that he was working to enlist more Rwandan youth to the terrorist organisation.

Indeed, on this occasion, Rusesabagina was referring to the bloody attacks the militia had launched in Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru in June and December 2018.

In the aftermath of his arrest, foreign organizations as well as individuals that have, over the years, promoted Rusesabagina even after he had declared that he had formed an armed militia that was launching terrorist attacks on Rwanda, have been blindsided and thrown into panic.

They have frantically started a smear campaign against the government of Rwanda, as they attempt to cover up their own complicity. They have put out news releases and are actively working the phones, telling whoever is prepared to

listen that Rusesabagina is an innocent man who is going to be subjected to all manner of mistreatment.

However, the campaign isn't working. After a meeting with Rwanda's Ambassador to Washington, Mathilde Mukantabana, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy, released a message stating that his government expects Rwanda to "provide humane treatment, adhere to the rule of law and provide a fair and transparent legal process for Rusesabagina".

The American government expectations as articulated by Mr. Nagy aren't any different from what the Rwandan people themselves expect - A fair and transparent trial.

The United States has, over the years, deported wanted Rwandan criminals precisely because Washington

is confident the suspects are assured of a fair trial here. Similarly, Western countries have routinely removed from their territories, Rwandan criminals and handed to Kigali to be tried for all kinds violations of the law in Rwanda, because they trust the country's judiciary's integrity.

As it turns out the people making the loudest noise and throwing around all kinds of propaganda filth didn't take long to get their answer; not from the government of Rwanda, but from Rusesabagina himself.

In an exclusive interview with the East African (September 3, 2020), he told the reporter that since his arrival he has "been treated with kindness and given the freedom to "choose my defence team".